Michael Bloomberg To Donate $40M To Fight Coronavirus In Africa & World
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Michael Bloomberg might be out of the presidential race, but he’s still doing his part.
According to ABC News, the former New York City mayor revealed on Tuesday that he is pledging $40 million towards “immediate action” in the fight against coronavirus for low and middle-income countries such as Africa. The initiative will connect leaders to those specializing in fighting the virus and helping the healthcare workers in those countries battle the spread.
“The initiative will fund rapid response teams that will be deployed to prevent and detect infection; train frontline healthcare workers in infection prevention and control; develop lab networks to manage and transport specimens to central laboratories for COVID-19 diagnosis; measure acceptance and impact of containment strategies such as school and church closures and cancellation of mass gatherings through rapid mobile phone surveys; provide communications support such as public education campaigns; and provide technical expertise to global and regional health organizations.”
“Millions of lives depend on getting the coronavirus response right – and so does the economic and social health of communities around the world. We need to slow transmission of the virus and minimize the impact of the outbreak in all countries,” Bloomberg added. “As we launch the Coronavirus Local Response Initiative this week here in the U.S., we also are creating a new effort to prevent its spread globally, particularly in Africa. I know from my experience as mayor of New York City that giving public health professionals the tools to protect the public is vital to saving lives – and to help mitigate the kind of economic and social damage that could make this crisis even more debilitating for families and communities.”
Bloomberg will be partnering up with the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies to implement the relief.
Last week, we launched an effort to help US mayors manage COVID-19. Today, @BloombergDotOrg is committing $40M to prevent and slow its spread around the world, particularly in Africa.
Millions of lives and livelihoods depend on getting this response right.https://t.co/vTzubXjNEC
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) March 17, 2020
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